Soak up the sun
by moonfangpiercerofheaven
Summary: There are painfull memories by the river in the rain. But what about the memories in the park under the sunny sky? IchiRuki oneshot.


**Authors Note: Well, here it is, my first one shot. This is mostly in Rukia's POV. I got this idea from reading a chapter of one of my other stories. Yeah, I didn't know I had this kind of stuff in me either. Anyway... please review.**

**You're holding on to me too…**

Rukia Kuchiki walked down the streets of Karakura town. She was looking for a certain orange haired Substitute Soul Reaper. Ichigo was nowhere to be found. When she had woken up earlier that day, she had discovered that he was missing. Confused, she had gone to ask Yuzu. The small girl revealed that Ichigo had left very early in the morning. When Rukia pressed her for more information, she had admitted that she knew nothing about where Ichigo had gone. It now around noon, and he still hadn't come back. So here Rukia was now, searching for Ichigo. Why? It was a question she was currently asking herself. After a bit of thinking she finally came to terms with the fact that yes, she was worried. Again, Rukia asked herself why.

_Because he's an idiot that always gets in trouble,_ her rational side said.

_Or…maybe there's a deeper reason for your worry,_ her more emotional side said. Rukia told that side to stuff it.

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"Agh!" a crazily dressed, eighteen-year-old cried as his face crashed into a gravestone. His three friends watched with looks of disbelief on their faces as their buddy slumped to the ground. They too, were similarly dressed like, well…idiots. The stench of alcohol on their breaths was obvious. In short, they were just common thugs. The foot that had kicked the first thug into the gravestone was lowered and placed on the ground. The owner of that foot shot his signature glare at the pair of thugs. They stared at him in surprise. Finally, one of them spoke up.

"Hey, aren't you that Kurosaki kid?" He asked. Ichigo Kurosaki didn't answer, instead, he looked at a section of the gravestones near the punks in front of him. There was graffiti all over them. Fresh flowers that had been left were now trampled into the ground. Beer bottles were littered everywhere. Ichigo looked down. Their skateboards were lying in front of him. Ichigo was tempted to snap them, but restrained himself, for the moment.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" The thug that had spoken earlier shouted. Ichigo didn't answer. He didn't even look up.

"Answer you little…"Quick as a flash, Ichigo hooked his foot under one of the skateboards and sent it flying. There was a cracking sound as the board collided with the thugs face. The thug's eyes rolled backwards as he fell to the ground. Ichigo sighed.

"So…" he started, "We've to a couple of first-class dumbasses drinking and disrespecting the deceased." Ichigo glared, "Congratulations, that's gotta be the lowest thing I've seen all week." A hint of fear shown in the thugs eyes. Ichigo smirked and took a step forward.

"You know, I've come to have a soft spot for the dead. So I'm only going to say this once. Get outta here or there'll be four new headstones in this graveyard soon." He was smirking with his hands in his pockets. The thugs weighed their odds. Them against Ichigo Kurosaki…They turned and ran like hell. Now, some might think that Ichigo was being a little harsh, but in reality, they had been getting dangerously close to a certain grave. A certain grave where if they had touched it the hospital would have had four new long-term members. Ichigo sighed as he watched the thugs run away.

_They won't be back,_ He thought. Walking a couple of feet, he stopped in front of a grave. He didn't know possessed him to come here today. But now he was glad he did. Her grave might have been a little more…colorful if he hadn't.

"Hey mom…" He whispered.

_Well, if nothing else…at least I managed to protect her from something._

"Ichigo…"Ichigo turned around. Rukia was standing there.

"Rukia," Ichigo greeted, "What are you doing here?"

"You idiot, I was looking for you. You disappeared on us," She replied as she walked towards him. She took in all the graffiti and beer bottles.

"This some kind of party, or did I miss something?" Ichigo grinned, something that was becoming a regular occurrence around her.

"Just the usual," He replied. Rukia stepped up beside him. She looked at the grave before her.

"What made you come here?" She asked Ichigo. He shrugged.

"Just a feeling, really," He answered. She didn't press further. She had given up on trying to figure out how Ichigo's mind worked long ago. She looked over at Ichigo. He was gazing at his mother's grave. A little worried, she stepped closer to him.

"You okay?" She asked. He smiled. It wasn't a smirk, and it wasn't a sad smile. It was one of his rare, genuine smiles. He looked at her, still smiling. Rukia's stomach started to flutter a bit.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He assured her. A grumbling noise was suddenly heard. Ichigo placed a hand over his stomach and grinned sheepishly.

"I'm a little hungry though," he admitted. Rukia started laughing. Ichigo frowned.

"Hey, come on, I didn't get breakfast," Rukia continued to laugh. Ichigo's frown got deeper.

"Yeah, whatever, laugh it up," He growled and started to make his way toward the Cemetery's exit. It took Rukia a few seconds to realize Ichigo was no longer with her.

"Hey Ichigo! Wait up!"

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_Humans are very hungry creatures, _Thought Rukia as she stared at the thing in front of her. It was a cart on wheels. She and Ichigo were standing on the sidewalk. Ichigo was currently buying a snack from the vender manning the cart.

_Can they not wait until they get home to eat?_ Thought Rukia, _Are things like this really necessary?_ Then Rukia saw something that made her stop thinking so much. She discovered that the cart also sold large cookies. She then realized that she was a little hungry too. And she did like cookies. After all, who doesn't? Rukia stepped up beside Ichigo. She tugged at his sleeve. He turned to look at her.

"Ichigo, can you get me something?" She asked, pointing to the cookies. Ichigo cocked his head.

"And I should do this…why?" Rukia stepped on his foot in answer.

"Ow! Fine," He relented and handed some more money to the vender, who was trying very hard not to laugh. Ichigo glared at him, and he suddenly found controlling his laugher much easier. The vender handed one of the large cookies to Ichigo, who shoved it into Rukia's hands and muttered a sarcastic,

"You're welcome," Rukia smiled happily and took a bite.

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Rukia walked happily behind Ichigo, enjoying her snack. They had been walking for a few minutes now. Rukia glanced around. They were near the entrance to Karakura Park. Suddenly, Ichigo stopped. He turned around.

"Hey Rukia, if you want to head home go ahead, I want to make a quick stop here," Ichigo told her. Rukia was confused.

"And do what?" She asked him, Ichigo smirked.

"I don't know, maybe I'll play in the sand." He teased her. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Well, It's not like I can't picture you doing something that stupid," She retorted. Ichigo, still smirking, raised an eyebrow.

"You think playing in the park is stupid?" he asked her. Rukia shrugged.

"Aren't there better ways to spend your time," She asked. This time Ichigo shrugged. He turned and faced the park entrance.

"Maybe, but when I was little the whole family used to come here to spend time together," He had emphasized the word _whole_ .Rukia, realizing what she had done, started to feel bad. But then Ichigo looked over at his shoulder, he still had his big grin on his face.

"Just because something's stupid doesn't mean it's not worthwhile." He told her, "But I'm not here to play, really it's nothing important. Why don't you go on home." Rukia cocked her head.

"Well…Okay, see you later then," She said.

"Alright, later," With that he walked into the park. Rukia watched him go. After a minute, she turned to head back to the clinic but she stopped. She thought for a minute. Finally, curiosity got the better of her and she turned around and headed into the park.

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She had been searching for nearly fifteen minutes, yet she had found no sign of Ichigo. She was getting ready to give up.

_Maybe he went home already. What could he have wanted to do here? Why do I even care? It's just Ichigo, it couldn't be that interesting._ She turned around and kept looking. Try as she might, she couldn't stop looking, she just had to find him.

_I'm just doing this to make sure he's okay,_ She told herself. _Yeah, It can't be because you want to see him. _Her emotional side piped up.

"Stupid emotions," Rukia mumbled to herself. She took a look around. She had wandered away from the crowded areas of the park. In fact, there was no one around at all. Rukia smiled as she realized how peaceful it was.

_It's really nice here, the cool breeze, the fresh air, the green grass except for that one orange spot…wait what!?_

Rukia stared, there was Ichigo, lying on a hill in front of her. She could only see the top of his head, but there was no mistaking that spiky orange hair. Rukia climbed up the hill. When she got to the top, she saw Ichigo, eyes closed and hands behind his head. It looked like he was sleeping. She crept up silently behind him. Soon she was only a few feet away.

"I thought you were going home," He said suddenly.

_Damn it, how does he do that? _Rukia wondered as she went over and sat next to Ichigo.

"I was curious," She replied. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know,"

"Well then it's a good thing I'm not a cat then," Ichigo grinned at this. Rukia took in their surroundings. They were completely alone, and it was so peaceful. Nothing was said for a few minutes, Then Rukia finally broke the silence.

"So why are you out here?" She asked. Ichigo tilted his head and stared into the sky.

"My mother…"he began, "she used to bring me here…before she died…"

"Oh…"Was all Rukia could say. She suddenly felt like she didn't belong here, like she was intruding. She stood up.

"Maybe I should go home, I'll leave you alone," She was about to go when Ichigo gave her an annoyed look.

"You already went through all the trouble of finding me, you might as well stay," Rukia was a little shocked.

"A-are you sure you want me to stay?" She asked.

"Would I be telling you to if I didn't," He replied.

_No he probably wouldn't,_Rukia thought with a grin as she sat next to Ichigo again. Again, a silence fell between them. But this time, it was Ichigo that broke the silence.

"You know, my mother would always tell me stories and stuff when she brought me here. And sometimes, if it was dark out, we would watch the stars," Rukia said nothing. She didn't want to interrupt. It wasn't everyday that Ichigo opened up like this and, although she would never admit it, she wanted to know as much about the substitute soul reaper as possible. Ichigo stood up and walked around behind her, still staring into the sky.

"No matter what kind of mood I was in, whenever she took me here it always made me happy, because she always knew how to make it the perfect day," Rukia smiled and stared out at the landscape.

"I know the feeling…"She said so softly that Ichigo couldn't hear. Ichigo was still staring into the clouds. As a bird flew overhead, a memory resurfaced. He grinned mischievously as an idea formed.

"You know something else my mother used to do," He asked, still smiling.

"What," Rukia replied, not looking at him. Big mistake. Ichigo's smile grew as he lifted his foot.

"This," he said and pushed his foot into Rukia's back, not enough to hurt, but enough to make her go rolling down the hill. It had been Ichigo's plan to send Rukia rolling down the hill like he and his mother used to do years ago. But as he should know, plans don't always work out.

Rukia reacted out of natural reflex. As soon as she started falling her hand shot out to grab the nearest thing it could find, which just so happened to be Ichigo's foot. With a cry of surprise, Ichigo fell and started his journey down the hill. Rukia, who had still been holding onto Ichigo went with him. Both were now rolling downwards at magnificent speeds.

_I'm going to kill him!_ Rukia thought as she traveled down the hill. But then she realized something. He was laughing. He was laughing and smiling. They expression on his face was defiantly one of happiness. And happy was not a word often used to describe Ichigo Kurosaki. It wasn't long before Rukia started laughing as well. Rukia realized she was having a blast.

_We should do stuff like this more often,_ She thought as they reached the bottom. Then something happened that made Rukia unconsciously think that they should _defiantly_, do stuff like this more often. They had stopped rolling. And Ichigo had stopped, right on top of her. Rukia felt her face go red. The same went for Ichigo.

"S-sorry," he mumbled. Ichigo heart had started beating a little faster than normal, Rukia was so close.

"T-that's okay," Rukia replied. Her heart had started beating a little faster than normal, Ichigo was so close.

_Oh god, what's this feeling?_

Ichigo placed his hands on both sides of her and propped himself up a bit, but he didn't get off her. Not that Rukia wanted him to. Ichigo suddenly started chuckling a bit. Rukia looked at him quizzically.

"What?" She asked. Ichigo looked down at her.

"You've got dirt all over your face," he told her. Rukia's eyes crossed in an attempt to look at her nose. This made Ichigo laugh even more.

"Here, I'll get it," He said and placed his thumb under her right eye and started caressing her cheek. Rukia was going to have a heart attack. Her heart couldn't possible beat any faster. Finally, Ichigo got all the dirt off her face, but he didn't remove his hand. Rukia looked up at him. Their eyes met and they both froze. They stayed like that for who knows how long. Rukia felt like she was melting. Ichigo, on the other hand, was having a slightly different reaction. He smiled, a bit mischievously. Rukia noticed that he had placed his left hand over her arm. She couldn't get up even if she wanted to. Her heart pretty much broke the speed of sound when Ichigo lowered his head closer to hers.

"I-Ichigo?" was all that she could manage, most of her mind had shut down at this point.

"Yeah…"Ichigo whispered, his hot breath tickled Rukia's face.

"Uh…Uh…"Now she was losing the ability to speak. Ichigo's face was just inches from hers.

"I-Ichigo…"She finally managed to mumble. Ichigo's smile got grew bigger and his face got closer.

"Something wrong?" He teased. Now Rukia was sure she was melting.

"Y-you're getting really close," She mumbled pathetically.

"And yet you don't seem to be moving away," For some reason her eyelids were starting to drop.

"W-well…Y-you're holding on to me…"

"…You're holding on to me too…" and with a start she realized that she was. Her right hand, which Ichigo had not held down, was gripping his shirt.

"W-well…I-I…"She was cut off because at that moment their lips met. Rukia's eyes widened, then slowly closed as she returned the kiss. Ichigo's hand had slipped off her arm and was now buried in her hair. IN response, Rukia wrapped her arms around his heck, pulling him closer. They stayed like that…until they needed oxygen.

They broke apart, breathing heavily. Rukia looked up at Ichigo, who was grinning.

"Still think playing in the park is stupid?" he asked. Rukia grinned.

"Since when were we _playing_?" Rukia smirked, pulling him in for another kiss.


End file.
